Detroit Lions lose Aidan Hutchinson for the season - when he could return
Aidan Hutchinson is an absolute menace to the other teams' offensive lines and quarterbacks. But his 2024 season is over after breaking his tibia in Sunday's demolition of the Dallas Cowboys.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell didn't forget about last year's game in Dallas – a 20-19 loss to the Cowboys that featured a 2-point conversion with Taylor Decker reporting as a receiver – and he wanted the entire league to know. The Detroit Lions took "America's Team" to the woodshed on Sunday – beating down the Cowboys at home by hanging nearly 50 points on the board. But the 47-9 win came with a significant cost.
Star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson won't play another down for the Lions this year after breaking his left tibia while taking down Dak Prescott for his final sack of the season. Hutchinson could be seen mouthing "it's broken" on the broadcast. Trainers brought out an air cast and put it on him before carting him off the field.
The NFL's sack leader recorded a sack on the play where he was hurt. He'll finish his season with 7.5 sacks in five games.
The injury was bad enough that the NFL broadcast chose not to show replays of it happening.
When will Aidan Hutchinson have surgery?
Hutchinson immediately went in for surgery in the Dallas area.
According to the Lions, Hutchinson had successful surgery at Baylor White Medical Center in Irving, Texas.
The team says he'll return to Detroit later this week and is expected to make a full recovery, but there's no timeline for his return.
"Hate it for Hutch. That’s tough," head coach Dan Campbell said in a post-game press conference. "It was tough. He’s in good hands right now. He’s being taken care of. He’ll stay back here, and obviously he’s going to be down a little while, so that’s tough, and it’s hard when you lose somebody like him. We’ll know a lot more after this and obviously wish him the best."
What bone did Aidan Hutchinson break?
Hutchinson was confirmed on Sunday to have a broken tibia, the larger of the two bones in the lower leg. However, Monday's report from the team was that he had surgery on both his tibia and fibula.
The team is reporting he had surgery to have both repaired.
FOX 2 talked to Dr. Christopher Cooke, an orthopedic surgeon at DMC Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. Dr. Cooke is unaffiliated with the Detroit Lions and did not observe Hutchinson's interview in person. However, he is the head of sports medicine at Detroit Medical Center and an orthopedic surgeon. in other words – he's done this before.
He said this time of injury can be extremely painful.
"It looks like he sustained at least a left tibial shaft fracture, which is serious. Oftentimes, these fractures can poke through the skin. There can be arterial nervous injuries," he said.
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When can Aidan Hutchinson return?
Brace yourselves, Lions fans. This one hurts: Hutchinson won't play again this year.
Dr. Cooke said Hutchinson may be on the sidelines soon – but don't get your hopes up.
"My guess is we'll see Aidan Hutchison on the sideline of a Lions game in 1 or 2 weeks with partial weight bearing with crutches," Dr. Cooke said. "Usually within a couple of weeks, 4 to 6, we can get rid of the crutches and walk as normal."
Dr. Cooke said that he has seen athletes resume jogging by 10 to 12 weeks but getting back tot he sport is a different story.
"Unfortunately, I've never had an athlete go back to sports in less than 4 to 5 months, so you're not going to find a better candidate than Aidan Hutchinson," Dr. Cooke said. "He's young and he's got all facilities in the world, but it's highly doubtful he will play football again this season, although I expect him to be between 90 to 100% ready for training camp next fall."
Can Aidan Hutchinson get re-injured after he returns?
Dr. Cooke said the likelihood of Hutchinson re-injuring the broken bone is very low.
"The majority of time is not re-injured. People might remember ten years ago when Louisville was playing Michigan in the national championship, they had a player named Kevin Ware landed awkwardly and broke his tibia. Very similar injury," Dr. Cooke said. "We don't know if Aidan Hutchinson's went through the skin, like Kevin's did. He got surgery that night. He was walking on the court when Louisville won the national championship a week later. And he actually played college basketball again."
Dr. Cooke said a successful surgery and rehab done right will make it less likely for Hutchinson to break the bone again.
"There's a very, very small chance, not zero, but definitely single digits that he would injure this again," Dr. Cooke said.
How will the Lions replace Aidan Hutchinson?
You can't replace Hutchinson. The heart of the Lions defense was carried by number 97. But what the Lions can do is turn to the next guy.
Will the Lions trade for someone like Max Crosby from Las Vegas? Or do the Lions look in-house for the next guy?
Alim McNeill had two sacks in Sunday's win but nobody else on the field can touch Hutchinson's level.
The Lions have three weeks before the trade deadline and, if they want to make deal, need to have it done before 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5.